"A Helping Hand"

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• Date: March 2, 3031
• Planet: Tharkad, Tatyana Islands
• Location: Tropicana

The waiting room was furnished with chairs which looked soft, theoretically, and beige paint which was theoretically neutral and calming. Theoretically. The chairs weren't that soft after you sat in them for a while, and the paint started appearing to be several other shades all at once as time ticked past on the clock. Seconds, then minutes, then maybe even hours as the waiting room served its proper function. Sitting there was an unamused-seeming man in a uniform with a younger lady two chairs down playing some portable game and scowling at it. The receptionist looked up every few minutes to have an expression somewhere between resignation of this being his job, and irritation at having them waiting there so long.

Both the people in the chair ignored him, though. Occasionally the woman vented a sound something like a growl and muttered 'cheating game' under her breath. The man was now counting the number of tiles in the ceiling. He was up to three hundred before one of the doors opened. The receptionist looked up and spoke loudly. "Mister Templar will see you now."

The man stood, and looked over at his companion, who ignored it all and was focusing on the handheld unit. He shrugged and walked to the door, moving into an office which had a lovely view of the shoreline on this island. The slight dimming of polarized windows, and the dimmer lighting from the outer waiting room had the uniformed man squinting some at the dark-skinned man in a white suit. "Commander Sejanus, is it not?"

"It is. Representing Hatchy's Helpers, arriving as you requested." Though you had me wait for almost two hours.

"Yes, my apologies for the wait." He turned, and motioned to a much nicer chair than the one in the waiting room. "I was in communications with my superiors about the matter I'd wanted you here for."

"Which was work for us. Sir."

"A very apt use of tense. Was." He tapped fingers to his lips, then sighed. "The job has been retracted."

"May I ask why, sir?"

Mister Templar sighed, and sat down slowly. "The Lyran Command has declared the systems of Accrington, Port Moseby, Phalan, Sakhalin, and Dalkeith off limits until such time as the Legion of Vega stops pressuring our borders in that area."

"We're mercenaries. This is sort of our thing, going where the fighting is. And the boss really would like a black-and-white situation. Invading Kuritans, defending civilians."

"These planets are off limits precisely because of the fighting. More notably, the amount with which the Fourth Legion is moving in on this. The High Command is nervous, because there is a lot being sent in and they do not yet know why." He placed his hands palms-together before him. "I would not normally begin telling you this, but I want to impress upon you the reasons this conversation is happening."

Sejanus looked at him incredulously for a moment. "You are, of course, worried about the welfare of a mercenary group you have no reason to care about? I am not sure I understand the reasons, sir."

"I am worried about the worst case scenario involving your group." He slides a file folder across the desk and opened it to an image from an aerospace fighter's flight camera. "Specifically, the ship."

There was a much longer silence, as Sejanus sat down slowly. "You understand the 'Namida' would not necessarily be in the combat area."

"Yes."

"And there is an exceedingly small chance it could be taken over by hostile force."

"I can assume such is true, as far as you are aware."

"Then why-"

Mister Templar made a cutting motion with his hand, eyes narrowing. "Because if the Legion of Vega gets word back about it being in play, I do not doubt their mission parameters will change to try seizing it. By any means possible, which may include hostage negotiations."

"But the Lyran High Command has other opinions?"

Again, Mister Templar touched his lips and then spoke slower. "I was in a meeting where this was brought up earlier this week. Specifically, advancing the idea 'we' could seize it. It should not surprise you it was brought up, but I advised them it would be a poor idea. Doing so would render your outfit... not kindly disposed towards us for the attempt-" He stopped and tilted his head, as outside there was a loud thunk which sounded like something hitting a wall.

Sejanus turned and walked to the door, seeing the receptionist under his desk and the young woman standing there with her teeth bared in a way not a smile, her chair across the room and the small portable unit on the floor. "Cheating cheating!" She was no longer muttering, instead she had almost come to shouting while her foot stomped down and kept missing the unit.

"Ma'am, please calm-" From under the receptionist's desk, the voice unsteady, knowing his job and fearing now to deal with it. At least it wasn't boring anymore.

"It keeps cheating!" She hissed out, but Sejanus sighed and simply walked over. "Why does it keep cheating on me! Cheating stupid!" She kicked the unit, bouncing it off the far wall.

"Ma'am." His voice was pitched soft, and the woman looked up, pursing her lips but seeming to stow the outburst away as she walked over to pick up the handheld unit and jam it into her jacket pocket. He looked back to Mister Templar, and considered for a moment before speaking. "The Helpers appreciate your advice. However, we go where we are needed."

"Then I offer a bit of advice." The tall man folded his hands behind his back. "And a minor piece of assistance. If you must go to the region of space in question, be prepared for trouble. Whatever you choose to dispatch, please use this Jumpship instead of yours." He pulled a card from a pocket, holding it out. "The 'Sphinx's Riddle' will be secured for your usage for a trip within the next month, assuming your preparations are not going to take longer than that."

Sejanus nodded. "They shouldn't. Thank you for this trust."

Mister Templar smiled thinly, shaking his head. "It is not trust. It is knowing your outfit would go anyway, so it is advantageous to help instead of hinder."

As the pair left, the young woman stopped at the door and turned around. "Man." Her vocal tone was slightly chipper, upbeat as though the outburst only minutes ago had never happened.

"Excuse me?"

"The answer to the Sphinx's Riddle. It's 'man'."

Mister Templar chuckled, waving his fingers vaguely. "Young lady, that is the answer to one riddle. But there are many riddles, depending on the myth being told."

"Probably so." She looked up as Sejanus opened the door. "But that's always the answer, you know." With that, she walked out, humming under her breath. Once down the hall, she spoke up again. "Do you think we'll have time to visit the Laughing Lepus?"

"Again?"

"Always make time to visit places you like, Sejanus!" She stretched her arms up, and put her hands behind her head as she looked upwards. "You never know when you're going to see them again!"

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Credits

Captain Hatchy and Hatchy's Helpers belong to Hatchy

BattleTech is owned by Topps, with tabletop game development licensed to Catalyst Game Labs.

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